Vitage Kyosho Circuit 1000 Buggy restoration Specialist

It's what every collector wants! It is the pentacle of Radio Control Modeling! There is no more realistic looking , more true to scale radio control vehicle than the Tamiya Bruiser. The Bruiser was introduced by Tamiya in 1985 and was an instant success despite it's being the end of era. The Bruiser would mark the second from the last all metal kits from Tamiya, with the Mountaineer being the last. The truck, for those of you that do not know, is a 1/10 scale, electric powered, 3 speed, four wheel drive. One of the neatest features about the truck is it's realistic all metal ladder frame and working leaf spring suspension. The bruiser contained allot of parts that originated on Tamiya's Toyota Hilux 4x4 that was introduced in 1981. The axles and the 3 speed transmission being the two most significant parts carried over. Unlike the Hilux though the bruiser was not powered by a Mabuchi RS 540S motor, instead it was given a mammoth RS 750 SH motor to turn over the oversized tires. The Bruiser also had quite a bit more altitude over it's earlier sibling, as it had more arch in the leaf springs, longer spring shackles, and raised body mounts. All in all the truck was as cool as any RC truck could get! I have been pining over one of these trucks since I got back into the hobby to only be alluded by them until now! I was searching for RC-10's on Ebay and came across a multi vehicle parts lot auction with a horrible photograph for a reference. But even with the bad photo I could distinctly make out the undeniable shape of the Bruiser. The auction wound up being ended early then re-listed with a buy it now of $250.00. Needless to say I was the first and only person that got to see the auction get re-listed. I bought it immediately. Once I had the truck in my possession it was love. Even though it was a little worse for ware I was up to the challenge of rebuilding her! So let the resurrection begin!



She was far from perfect! She had no gears or axles in the front end, and the front axle housing was bent. The front drive shaft was missing and the rear one was about ready to fall apart. There was a clicking noise in the rear end. The body had about 20 coats of paint on it, and was going to be a real challenge to strip. The leaf springs had seen so much abuse that they had very little arch left in them. There were no head light lens' and neither of the correct headlight buckets were there. The windshield was cracked, the steering wheel was missing, and someone left the receiver battery in the radio box and it leaked. The radio box was missing the battery tray, and the servo cover. I located and purchased complete front and rear axle assemblies, and a complete radio box. It is on the way. I bought aluminum lower shock mounts, aluminum steering arm, and a radio shift gate from RC4WD, and since I needed leaf springs and wanted to lift the truck anyway, I ordered a set of 6" Lift Leaf Springs from the Hobby Shop. I hope they work.


	Over all I am very happy with the truck despite it's short comings. I have been able so far to get the parts coming I needed for it, and have plans on making some pretty trick one off custom pieces. I had my friend Brandon's new Proline Moab tires here at my house, so for shit's and giggles I tossed them on the truck to see how they sized up and see weather or not I wanted a set for her. After installing them I couldn't wait for my Lift Springs to get here. This truck needs some altitude. I think I am going to order a set of Imex Swamp Dawgs for this bitch instead of going with the Moabs. I know more once my springs get here. In the mean time I will re-build my shocks, and clean things up some more.

The springs came in today, and man are they arched! HOLY CRAP! This is gonna be a major lift over how it sets now! Above is the new Lift Springs	New Lift Springs Compared to old tired Stock ones.


	I hate all these damn decals! They have to go now! It is so hard to profile a job with body lines all broke by decals! I pulled the decals off then tried adding some spacers under the body mounts to raise the body about 2.5 scale inches. The Moabs just were not growing on me as the right tire for this build. I hope the Imex's look better! After the body lift I still don't like the Moabs! And I'm not sure if I like the body lift!

It's time to strip this body! All the black goo that someone thought was paint is riding my nerves! It has to go. I bought 3 quarts of brake fluid today and started disassembling the body. I stripped the cab, the nurfs, the bed, and the grill. Everything else I'm not touching! Yet!





Before the Lift Kit!	After the lift kit! ( no body lift )
Well I got the body stripped and then sprayed a couple of good coats of fill primer on it. I had to first remove the paint from all the nooks and crannies like around the emblems, door handles, as well as al the hood and door gaps. I am going to let the primer set for a few weeks and see how much actual filler work will be needed on the body. I know I have a repair to do on the front windshield opening, and there are some pretty deep scratches on the roof that will need filled. While I am waiting on the filler primer to fully dry and cure I will start working on my axle braces, and the front pre-runner bar. I am thinking of making a safari rack for the roof as well. Lot's of ideas just not sure how I want everything to look yet!

	I had ordered some part from RC4WD and also some replacement axles and radio box from a guy in Japan. They both showed up at the same time. I installed my new aluminum lower shock mounts and aluminum steering arm from RC4WD, as well as the new parts from the guy in Japan. RC4WD makes nice stuff! I have to get a set of there Aluminum rims for this build! I got my axle braces finished up after getting the new axles on. All I need to do now is have them polished. I also got a good a start on the pre-runner bar. I made the braces and pre-runner bar from stainless steel rod so they would be very sturdy as well as polishable. My Imex Swamp Dawgs arrived as well, so I threw them on as well.







	I started building my Safari Rack out of stainless steel rod. I have the base finished. I used a perorated stainless screen for the base of the rack. I still need to figure out a good design for the side rails, and how many lights I want to mount on it! I mached up my prerunner bar to get a good idea of what it will look like when finished. I think the Safari rack need to sit lower on the roof! Maybe about 1/8 to 3/16 lower toward the roof. I will wait though until the side rails are finished!



I added a perimeter bar to the roof rack, and a rear support for it. It is time to start tearing the truck down for paint. I am going to do the chassis first, then the body. I plan on making a removable bed cover for the bed that is hinged. I want it to be able to lift up as well as come completely off. I still need to make the light bar for the roof rack as well. I have some detail repairs to do on the body before it get's any color. I think I am going to paint the truck red! I just not 100% sure though. I'm still waiting for the right color to stand out and grab me!
	It's been awhile since I had a chance to work on this truck. I had totally disassembled the truck back in July of 2008. I had taken the frame parts into work and bead blasted them then primed them with a self etching primer. I just recently decided to scuff the parts and paint them. I am going to take the axle assemblies apart and bead blast them soon. Once they are painted the chassis can be totally reassembled for the last time. I have a few detail parts to make for the chassis still so I still have quite a bit of work to do before the chassis is finished.





	Man it is cool to see this truck back on its wheels. As you can see I painted the axle housings, and got them back together. I also started painting the transmission and body mounts. I have the tranny gutted but the housing put back together to paint as one unit. Once the paint is dry it all goes back together.